1. Field
The invention is in the field of apparatus for adding fertilizer to sprinkler systems.
2. State of the Art
Traditionally, fertilizer has been dispensed for home lawn and gardens by manually spraying the nutrients with a hose end or tank sprayer or by distribution of granulated fertilizer through several types of spreaders. Larger turf areas are often fertilized by blending liquid fertilizer with irrigation water using elaborate fertilizer delivery systems including electronic or pneumatic injection heads, electronic flow and batch control meters, EC and pH meters and instrumentation, and computerized part-per-million injection systems. For residential use, small, non-electronic systems are available that can be mounted directly into sprinkling system water supply lines and are operated by water pressure and water flow acting on reciprocating piston or diaphragm mechanisms. However, such systems are dirt sensitive, unreliable, and expensive to manufacture. Systems are also available that include compartments holding solid fertilizer with water directed over the solid fertilizer to dissolve it into the water. These systems are also unreliable and generally inaccurate in the amount of fertilizer dispensed.
The need remains for a fertilizer injection system that is relatively inexpensive and accurate in the amount of fertilizer injected, and includes a drive system that is not dirt sensitive.